News of the Western Belize Recreational Area, about 500 square miles of waterfalls, caves, Mayan ruins and pyramids, Belize Alps, foothills, ranches and farms, tourist accomodations of all types and description, tours and expeditions for vacationers and visitors. Even a small growing expatriate retirement group of people from different countries. In Belize, this is where it is happening, all the things that are fun and even serious, with a climate of ETERNAL SPRING.

Friday, March 1, 2013

GUATEMALA PRESIDENT CHOOSES WAR LIKE ATTITUDE WITH BELIZE, RATHER THAN BUILD OUR TWO ECONOMIES AS PARTNERS

GUATEMALAN PRESIDENT CHOOSES CONFRONTATION OVER PEACEFUL ECONOMIC JOINT DEVELOPMENT WITH BOTH COUNTRIES OF BELIZE AND GUATEMALA SUPPORTING EACH OTHER IN BUILDING OF PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS?

La Comisión de Belice dissolved because the body failed to inform him of 2008 change in the Belize Referendum Act

“La Comisión de Belice queda disuelta…”

“The Commission on Belize is dissolved…”

“…both sides had assumed a
positive outcome, meaning a ‘yes’ vote, in the referendum, and neither
they nor the special agreement contemplated what would happen should
voters disapprove of the ICJ route for resolution.”

Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina
took a drastic measure last Thursday, February 21, when he disbanded La
Comisión de Belice, an information/advisory agency on Belize matters
which has existed inside the Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs for
more than 25 years, after an investigation indicated that it “neglected”
its duty to inform their government of the 2008 change in the Belize
Referendum Act.

The change in Belize’s law was no
secret, as it was hotly debated in Belize’s Parliament and it was
furthermore, the subject of fierce public litigation in Belizean courts.

Near the end of last month, January,
Molina ordered an investigation into the proceedings of the Comisión de
Belice, as they pertain to the question of settling the territorial
differendum at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He instructed
that the results should be turned over to him within 15 days.

Last Thursday, after being apprised of
the results of that investigation, Molina ordered the disbanding of the
Comisión de Belice. The president has also ordered the establishment of a
new advisory body on Belize matters and Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign
Relations, Luis Fernando Carrera, announced administrative
interventions to be made at the Guatemala Embassy here in Belize, which
the investigation has also faulted with neglecting its responsibility to
keep the Guatemala government informed, an official statement
announced.

Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala, H.E.
Alfredo Martinez, indicates that public concerns have been expressed in
Guatemala over the US$32 million which Guatemala has programmed to spend
on the referendum, slated to be held simultaneously with Belize on
Sunday, October 6, 2013, at which time voters would decide whether the
dispute should be settled at the ICJ or not.

Some persons are concerned that all
those financial resources, which could be better spent on social
programs, would be wasted if the 60% threshold set out in Belize’s
amended Referendum Act is not met, he explained.

“Our public response when asked, is that
the whole thing was in the public domain and we took it for granted
that they knew, so why make an issue of it? Besides, it is our sovereign
law,” said Martinez.

The Guatemalan government claims it was
unaware of the change made in early 2008—well before the signing of the
ICJ special agreement—and it was only informally advised in 2011. Its
informants are being reprimanded for allegedly neglecting their duties
to keep them abreast of developments on the Belize front.

“The change in the Belize legislation,
which introduced a requirement for (voter) participation of at least 60%
to validate the result of the referendum, occurred during the 2008
negotiations—5 months before the signing of the Special Agreement at the
OAS,” the statement added. (Guatemala’s law sets no minimum and the
simple majority rule would apply.)

Chief Executive Officer in the Belize
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexis Rosado, said that Guatemala did ask
Belize if there is any possibility of removing the 60% requirement from
the act, but Belize indicated that it would not, and furthermore,
explained that the changes to the referendum act were contemplated well
before negotiations for the ICJ special agreement.

Rosado said that this is really a non-issue, since voter turnout in Belize is customarily in the region of 70%.

CEO Rosado said that this latest
development has no bearing on the Belize-Guatemala differendum, as it is
entirely an internal administrative matter for Guatemala.

Nonetheless, Guatemala’s official
statement said that Molina is lobbying the OAS to use its offices to
restore good faith relations between the parties, to pursue the
objective set out in the special agreement, to resolve the matter via
the ICJ.

Minister Carrera, appointed Guatemala’s
Minister of Foreign Relations just over a month ago, announced at a
press conference last Thursday that the governments on both sides of the
border have committed in good faith to carry out the October 6, 2013,
referendum.

However, he castigated the parties
charged with the responsibility of keeping the Guatemalan government
informed for not warning the country about the change Belize made in
2008, in its referendum act. Their failure, said Carrera, showed that
they were careless in carrying out their responsibilities.

As a consequence, Carrera announced, la
Comisión de Belice will be replaced. Given the political importance of
the Belize issue, the President has decided to create a high-level
advisory group on the subject of Belize, composed of ministers and
political advisors, who will get legal technical assistance from a range
of experts.

According to a statement from the
Guatemala Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the simultaneous referenda are
simply an avenue for achieving the objective set out in the December
2008 compromis (special agreement)—that is, to resolve the territorial,
insular and maritime differendum between Belize and Guatemala via the
International Court of Justice.

The statement said that both sides had
assumed a positive outcome, meaning a ‘yes’ vote, in the referendum, and
neither they nor the special agreement contemplated what would happen
should voters disapprove of the ICJ route for resolution.

Ambassador Martinez said that on the
Belize side, should the people vote ‘yes’, the referendum results would
then be tabled in the Senate for ‘protocol passage’ before the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs emits a ratification notice to Guatemala. On the
Guatemala side, the referendum results would be transmitted through
Molina’s office before going to the Ministry of Foreign Relations for
the preparation of their ratification note.

Belize has already initiated its public
education process; however, according to Ambassador Martinez, Guatemala
has said it would hold out until three months before the referendum date
to commence theirs. The referendum is due in just under seven and a
half months.

Meanwhile, our newspaper understands
that on the Guatemalan side, there is infighting over the ICJ process,
and despite the ‘yes’ votes assumed by the compromis, very powerful
factions are divided over whether the matter should even go to the ICJ.

There will continue to be bilateral
meetings, via OAS channels, between Belize and Guatemala as the months
ensue; however, we understand that a date has not yet been fixed for
their next official meeting.